French and Japanese Actor – Dean Cain

A mixture of Welsh, French and Japanese, Dean Cain was born in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. Cain’s parents divorced before he was born and while still a baby, his mother moved with him and his older brother to California and re-married. He grew up playing on the beautiful Malibu beaches and later excelled at sports like football, basketball, volleyball and wrestling.

While it seemed there was no athletic activity he couldn’t conquer, it was on the football field that Cain had hoped to make a name for himself. After graduating from Santa Monica High School in 1984, he was offered 17 athletic scholarships, all of which he turned down in favor of Princeton University.

At the ivy league school, he majored in history, captained the volleyball team, and of course, excelled as a free safety on the football team. After graduating in 1988, Cain joined the NFL’s Buffalo Bills as a free agent. Unfortunately, a severe knee-injury in training camp forced the end of his pro career literally before it began.

With hopes of a career in the NFL dashed, Cain returned home to California and began work on another passion: writing. Ironically, Cain only turned to acting as a means to supplement his income while riding out a less than lucrative period in his young screenwriting career. But by 1992, the 35 commercials he had done led to guest appearances on shows like Grapevine, A Different World, and most notably, Beverly Hills 90210. The following year would bring an even bigger break when Cain was cast as Clark Kent/Superman in a pilot for a show called Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997).

The show, a 90’s update to the classic comic book story, also gave Cain a chance to showcase his writing talents with two episodes, “Seasons Greedings” and “Virtually Destroyed”.

As if acting and writing weren’t enough, Cain has even taken a page from his stepfather’s book by going behind the camera. Cain recently directed three well received country music videos, “Papa Bear” by Keith Harling, “You’ll Never Know” and “The Other Side Of This Kiss” by Mindy McCready to whom he is married.

Cain has a development deal with Columbia TriStar TV and formed his own production company, Angry Dragon Entertainment, with partner Mike Carr. The company’s first series, a revamped version of Ripley’s Believe it or Not! which Cain also hosts, premiered on the TBS Superstation in January 1999 to record-breaking ratings.

Filipino Actor and Model – Diether Ocampo

He auditioned for ABS-CBN’s talent search in 1996. A year and a half later, he became one of the members of Star Circle Batch II. His first movie appearance was in ‘Calvento Files (1997)’ .

He also dabbles in photography and used to take up classical guitar lessons at the Yamaha School of Music. But all those activities have taken a backseat to his steadily rising show biz career.

The biggest trade-off of his career, however, is his education. Diether was a second year physical therapy student at De La Salle University in Dasmarinas, Cavite, when he was bitten by the show biz bug. It was his grandmother, who urged him to take up physical therapy. After all, he comes from a family of doctors. His last name is Pascual.

It was ABS-CBN Talent Center director Johnny Manahan, who advised him to use Ocampo, his mom’s maiden name. “I regret that I wasn’t able to finish college when I entered show biz,” says Diether. “But an opportunity like this comes only once.” The eldest child in a brood of three, Diether describes himself as a reluctant actor. He never imagined himself acting before the cameras.

When he was in college, he got interested in music. He formed a garage band with his campus friends and played alternative rock. But it took acting workshops with Peque Gallaga (film director) to hone Diether’s talent, before he became an actor. Today, Diether, is happy about the way his career is turning out. “Everything I planned to achieve, I was able to do in less than five years, which was the original timetable,” he says. He credits director Johnny Manahan and ABS-CBN for his flourishing career. He has also been handled by resident ABS-CBN directors “They were the ones who motivated me to take up acting seriously,” Diether says. His show biz earnings are apparently more than enough for him to maintain a comfortable lifestyle and provide a better life for his family.

To date, he has purchased a townhouse for his mom, who moved from Cavite to Quezon City, Philippines. He is also thinking about buying a bigger house for himself. “Four years ago, when I moved to this place, I thought the space was big enough for me,” Diether says. “But now, I find it so cramped because of the things I’ve been getting. Hopefully, I can get my own townhouse soon.” From TV, Diether has made a smooth transition to the movies. He has appeared in a number of big screen blockbusters in the Philippines.